Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy Admission Arrangements for Entry to the School in September 2022

December 2020

In accordance with the Department for Education’s School Admissions Code and Kent County Council, we are currently consulting with parents and carers, the Local Authority and other interested parties regarding proposed changes to The Leigh UTC and Inspiration Academy Admission Arrangements for entry to the school in September 2022.

Please see The Leigh UTC Admissions Procedure 2022 with the proposed changes on the Leigh UTC website.

The main change to note is that we are inviting students to sit a fair banding test to ensure students across a broad range of abilities are admitted.

The consultation opens on Friday 18th December 2020 and will close on Friday, 31 January 2020.

If you would like to comment on this policy or if you have any questions please email Jane Gordon - [email protected]

All comments received by the end of this period will be taken into consideration before finalising the admission arrangements for September 2022.

ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS

The Leigh UTC for the academic year 2022 / 2023

Leigh Academies Trust is the Admissions Authority of the Academy. Applications for places will be made in accordance with Kent County Council co-ordinated admissions scheme and timetable.

The Leigh UTC has an agreed published admission number of 120 for entry into Year 7 for the year 2022 / 2023.

Process of Application To apply for a place at The Leigh UTC, an applicant must apply through the home Local Authority, in accordance with the Co-ordinated Planned Admission scheme.

Consideration of applications All applications for places will be considered. Where fewer applications are received than the agreed admissions number, the academy will offer places to all those who have applied.

All applicants will be invited to sit a fair banding test. This is to ensure the academy admits a fully comprehensive range of abilities. It is not possible to pass or fail the test, but those not sitting the test at all, will only be prioritised after those children who have sat the test. The date of the test will be published widely, including on the academy website.. Parents wishing to apply for this academy should do so to the local authority in the usual way and register for the test by sending a Fair Banding Test Form, available from the academy website, to the main office of the academy or via email to be received by the date published on The Leigh UTC website. . Applicants who do not sit the test will be allocated an alternative date and time to sit the test. These applicants will not receive details of the fair banding test results until after the 31st October application deadline to submit a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) to their home local authority. Outcomes of the fair banding test will be available upon request from the academy after the date published on The Leigh UTC website

Requests for admission outside of the normal age group should be made to the Academy as early as possible in the admissions round associated with the child’s date of birth. This allows the academy and admissions authority sufficient time to make a decision before the closing date. Parents are not expected to provide evidence to support their request, however where provided it must be specific to the child in question and may include medical or Educational Psychologist reports. There is no legal requirement for this medical or educational evidence to be secured from an appropriate professional, however, failure to provide this may impede the academy’s ability to agree to a request for admission outside of the normal age group.

Parents are required to complete an application for the normal point of entry at the same time, in case their request is declined. Applications must be made to the Local Authority, with written confirmation from the academy Principal attached. Applications will be processed in the same way as all applications for the cohort in the following admissions round, and offers will be made in accordance with the academy’s oversubscription criteria.

Procedures where the Academy is oversubscribed Applications for places at the academy will be considered as follows:

Before the application of oversubscription criteria the following groups will be admitted and the published admissions number will be reduced accordingly:

● Children with a Statement of Special Education Need or Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names The Leigh UTC.

● Looked After Children or previously Looked After Children. A Looked After Child is one who is (a) in the care of a Local Authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). A previously Looked After Child is a child who was adopted, or subject to a Child Arrangement Order, or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after.

● Children previously in Care outside of England - Children who appear to Kent County council to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care in a place outside of England if they were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation or any other provider of care whose sole purpose is to benefit society.

Those applicants who have undertaken the fair banding test will then be split into 5 equally sized bands, based on the results of the fair banding test. This is to ensure that students across a broad range of abilities are admitted. If the number of applicants is not divisible by five the following process will apply:

● If there is one extra applicant when the number of applicants is divided by five there will be an additional applicant placed in Band 2; ● If there are two extra applicants, there will be one additional applicant placed in Band 3 and one in Band 4; ● If there are three extra applicants there will be one additional applicant placed in Band 5, one in Band 1 and one in Band 2; ● If there are four extra applicants there will be one additional applicant placed in Bands 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. ● If when the groups are split there are two children who have scored the same in the test, the academy priority criteria will be used to identify which child would go in which band Once students have been allocated, priority within each band will be given in the following order:

(1) Admission of students whose sibling(s) currently attends the school. Students whose sibling(s) currently attends the school and who will continue to do so at the time of entry. For this criterion brother or sister means children who live as brother and sister in the same house, including natural brothers or sisters, adopted siblings, step-brothers or sisters, foster brothers or sisters. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be treated as siblings. If siblings from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) apply for the Academy and the Academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those siblings, the Academy will offer a place to each of the siblings, even if doing so takes the Academy above its PAN. The Academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship.

(2) Acute Medical/Social Needs. Medical, health, social and special access reasons will be applied in accordance with The Leigh UTC legal obligations, in particular those under the Equality Act 2010. Priority will be given to those children whose mental or physical impairment means they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend The Leigh UTC. Equally this priority will apply to children whose parents’/guardians’ physical or mental health or social needs mean that they have a demonstrable and significant need to attend the Academy. Such claims will need to be supported by written evidence from a suitably qualified, independent registered medical or other practitioner, at the time of original application, who can demonstrate a special connection between these needs and The Leigh UTC.

(3) Child of a staff member. The son or daughter of a member of staff who has been employed at the academy for two or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the academy is made, or who has been recruited to fill a vacant post at the academy for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. For these criteria son or daughter means a child who lives in the same house as the member of staff, including a natural son or daughter, an adopted child, step-son or daughter, or foster child. Children residing in the same households as part of an extended family, such as cousins, will not be eligible under this criterion. If children come from multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) and the Academy would reach its Published Admission Number (PAN) after admitting one or more, but before admitting all of those children, the Academy will offer a place to each of the children, even if doing so takes the academy above its PAN. The Academy reserves the right to ask for proof of relationship.

(4) Children attending Leigh Academy Trust Primary Academies -20 places will be available to children attending a Leigh Academies Trust primary academy. Applications will only be given priority in this category if the Leigh Trust secondary academy to which they are applying is closest to their home. If oversubscribed in this category it will be the 20 closest to the Academy that will be admitted.

(5) Nearness of children's homes to school - proximity of the child’s home to the school, with those living nearer being accorded the higher priority. We use the distance between the child’s permanent home address and the school, measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the child’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody. When we apply the distance criterion for the school, these straight line measurements are used to determine how close each applicant’s address is to the school.

The home address is considered to be where the child resides as their only or principal residence. Proof of liability for Council Tax will be required. If the child resides equally between both parents, the principal home address will be considered as being the address at which the child is registered whilst attending primary school, with a GP and, if applicable, the address of the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit or Child Tax Credits for the child. For children who reside with a relative or carer other than a parent, a residence order or other court order will be required.

Those applicants who did not undertake the fair banding test will then be considered. Priority will be given in the following order: (a) Admission of students whose sibling(s) currently attends the school; (b) Acute medical/social needs; (c) Child of a staff member; (d) Children attending Leigh Academy Trust Primary Academies (e) Distance from the Academy.

The definitions of these criterions are the same as listed in section 2 above.

Tie Breaker. In the unlikely event that two or more applicants living the same distance away from the Academy and in all other ways have equal eligibility for the last available place at the Academy, the names will be issued a number and drawn randomly to decide which child should be given a place.

Late Applications. The Leigh UTC follows Kent County Councils Local Authority’s policy for late applications as stated in the booklet “Secondary Schools in Kent”.

In Year Admissions. Applicants applying for a place at The Leigh UTC need to apply directly to the Academy. The process regarding children admitted via Fair Access Panel will be in line with Kent Local Authority’s published arrangements.

Waiting list. The Academy will maintain a waiting list, in all ability bands, for the academic year being applied for. This will operate when the Academy receives more applications than there are places available, and the waiting list will operate for the full academic year. The waiting list will be managed by Kent County Council admissions team until August 31st and transfer to the academy on September 1st. The Leigh UTC will operate a waiting list, until 31st December 2022. Any parent/ carer can ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list, following an unsuccessful application. Any child for whom a place is requested on the waiting list will undertake the fair banding test, thus allowing each child to be placed in one of the ability bands. The lists will be ranked in line with the published oversubscription criteria, listed above, and no further information can be considered. If a place becomes available, the Academy will offer it to the next applicant on the waiting list in the appropriate ability band. If there are no applicants in that band, we will offer the place to the next applicant in an adjacent band, and so on. If a parent/ carer wishes their child to remain on the waiting list for the following academic year they must reapply at the start of the relevant academic year.

Looked After Children, previously Looked After Children and those allocated a place in accordance with the local authority Fair Access Protocol will take precedence over those on the waiting list.

To remain on the waiting list for the following academic year, an in-year admission application must be submitted.

Appeals. Leigh Academies Trust, as the Admissions Authority, delegates the responsibility for the administration of appeals to the Academy. Parents who wish to appeal the decision to refuse their child a place at the Academy may appeal in writing to the Clerk to Governors c/o the Academy. An independent panel will hear appeals in accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act 1988.

THE LEIGH UTC

email: [email protected] FAIR BANDING TEST FORM For entry in September 2022 at age 11+

PLEASE NOTE: CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2021

Please read ‘The Leigh UTC Admissions Procedure 2022’ before completing this form

By completing this form, you are registering your child to take The Leigh UTC Fair Banding Test. Parents/Carers must also apply for a space at The Leigh UTC by completing the Kent Secondary Admissions Online Application https://kent.cloud.servelec-synergy.com/Synergy/Parents/default.aspx

For office use Primary School (name only): only

Band: Child’s first name(s): ______

Receipt No: ______Child’s surname:

Initials: Date of birth: Age: Male Female ______

Date: ______Home address: ______

______

______Post Code: ______

PARENT / CARER (please delete as Miss / Ms / Mrs /Mr/ Dr / Other: applicable)

First name(s): Surname:

Address if different to child:

Daytime telephone number:

Email address:

PARENT / CARER (please delete as Miss / Ms / Mrs /Mr/ Dr / Other: applicable)

First name(s): Surname:

Address if different to child:

Daytime telephone number:

Email address:

I/we declare that the above details are correct and understand that failure to disclose or the giving of false information will result in my child's application being rejected. I/we also understand that should false information be given in the above details; any subsequent offer will be withdrawn and my child will be given no further consideration for a place at The Leigh Academy. The Leigh UTC reserve the right to request evidence of student's residential address.

I/we agree to The Leigh UTC processing personal data contained in this form and other relevant data which The Leigh UTC may obtain from myself or other people as part of the Admissions Procedure. I/we agree to the processing of such data for any purposes described above in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Signature(s) of Parents(s)/Carer(s)

1)______2) ______

Date: ______Date: ______